SPNI’S TEL AVIV CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION

Tel Aviv SPNI center’s operational vision is a city that is a good place to live in, Tel Aviv–Jaffa that is first and foremost a city of people. Intensive economic development, unaccompanied by sustainable policies, poses increasing threats to residents’ quality of life.

The center’s professional team includes community, planning, public policy and media professionals. The majority of our activities focus on strengthening community leadership and increasing the public's participation in the city’s planning. A worldview of social and environmental justice drives us to maintain full cooperation with neighborhood committees and local activists. We are also involved in promoting a concept of transportation that focuses on the resident-pedestrian rather than the car, struggling to preserve the remaining open beaches in the city, and protecting our city’s gardens and parks.

Among the projects promoted at the past years are: the expansion of the activities of the “Green Forum,” a coalition of community groups acting to promote an environmental agenda for the city; significant involvement in developing the city’s new Master Plan; presenting sustainable development principles and an alternate plan for the Yarkon Peninsula, Northern Tel Aviv and Jaffa coastlines; advancing the cause of public transportation in the city; protecting and converting open spaces for neighborhood use.


Goals and Objectives:
> Professional consolidation and leadership of the “Green Forum in Tel Aviv-Yaffo”
> Increasing and strengthening public participation in planning
> Promoting a sustainable transportation policy in Tel Aviv-Yaffo
> Protecting Tel Aviv-Yaffo’s coastline
> Protecting green open spaces and the public landscapes within the city.
> Coordinating the “Green Council Watch” that monitors the activities of the city council.


SPNI's Tel Aviv Center for Environmental Action - Staff

Momo Mahadav - Branch Director. Momo has been a member of SPNI's Tel Aviv branch since March 2000, and director since January 2001. A longtime resident of Tel Aviv, Momo has a BSW from Tel Aviv University and is in the process of completing his Masters in Public Policy. His rich professional experience includes positions with the Tel Aviv Municipality as a community worker in the Florentine neighborhood, coordinator of city projects, and more.

Dafna Mangan - Training - Coordinator of the Branch's Community Planning Staff. With a Masters in Urban Planning from Haifa's Technion, Dafna has been with the Tel Aviv branch since April 2001. She is a licensed mediator and a resident of Tel Aviv. Her previous professional experience includes positions in urban planning and on teams dealing with regional planning, Regional and City Master Plans, strategic planning, and preparation of written planning guides.

Omer Cohen - Coordinator of Public Information and Activities. On the Tel Aviv staff since October 2002. A city resident, graduate of Tel Aviv University's Depts. of Communication and Political Science, Omer is also an experienced journalist.